Connect with Us

Sunflower sale Saturday in Chilliwack

'Turn to the Sun' Sunflower Seedling Sale is set for May 11 at Gwynne Vaughan Park from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

— image credit: submitted

The seedlings should almost be the right size to plant.

A 'Turn to the Sun' Sunflower Seedling Sale is set for May 11 at Gwynne Vaughan Park from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The event is being organized "grandmothers and grand others" of the Chilliwacky Gogos, including Suzy Coulter, a self-identified Grand Other, and registered nurse.

Coulter started A Turn To The Sun campaign in 2005 after returning from Kenya as a volunteer nurse at a government hospital for people struggling with HIV/AIDS.

All proceeds go directly to support grassroots projects in sub-Saharan Africa which are helping to turn the tide of HIV/AIDS.

This weekend will mark the first Turn to the Sun sale in the Chilliwack area.

The Chilliwacky Gogos, dedicated members of the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, are regularly scheming creative ways to raise funds and awareness in support of the many African Grandmothers who are raising their grandchildren orphaned by the AIDS epidemic. Gogos means grandmother.

“The seed for this project grew from a meeting I had with a Kenyan woman whose husband had died of AIDS and who was herself living with HIV," said Coulter.

"She was struggling to support her eight children and generated some of her income by growing sunflowers, using the seeds to feed the family's chickens and in turn selling the eggs to buy food for her family.”

She was inspired by the woman's strength and determination, so when she returned she decided to grow and sell sunflower seedlings to raise funds and awareness of the devastating effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa.

Turn To The Sun has raised thousands of dollars in the Vancouver area since 2005, to help support the grassroots efforts of the Stephen Lewis Foundation.

For more info www.stephenlewisfoundation.org

www.turntothesun.org or call 603-823-2252

We encourage an open exchange of ideas on this story's topic, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. Personal attacks, inappropriate language, and off-topic comments may be removed, and comment privileges revoked, per our Terms of Use. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.